Simon Sinek unpacks why Japanese concept of 'wabi-sabi' makes life 'easier to accept'

It is easy to accept life when everything is smooth, and the paths are unobstructed. However, when things get tough and life encounters a hitch, cultivating acceptance is easier said than done. Life often throws challenges that can overwhelm you if you’re not careful. Simon Sinek, the famous inspirational speaker and the author of "Start With Why," brought up this theme in an episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett (@steven). Over 2.7 million people have watched this video since. “If you feel like you are not enough, you need to listen to this,” Bartlett urged the audience.

In the video, Sinek talked about a Japanese concept originating in Zen Buddhism called "wabi-sabi," which means “beauty in that which is temporary or imperfect." Sinek took up several metaphors to elucidate the concept, Japanese ceramics, for instance. “They are wonky,” he said, “The glaze is not even. But they are beautiful. You know why? Because they are handmade.”

He also explained how tree bark and wooden bowls are beautiful because they are imperfect and unique. “Things made on a machine are the same and less beautiful, and things made by hand are beautiful — because they are imperfect,” Sinek said. He then extended the concept to human relationships. “What makes people beautiful is not that we get everything right. It’s that we get many things wrong. And what makes us fall in love is not the perfect person. It’s the person who accepts our imperfections, and we know we are in love when we learn to accept theirs, not learn to want to,” he reflected. “The value of human error,” Bartlett remarked. 

True to what Sinek said, psychology echoes that maladaptive perfectionism is strongly associated with fear of intimacy. Research published in The Family Journal highlighted that unrealistic self-standards, perfectionism, and harsh self-criticism can create problems in intimate relationships. Another study shows maladaptive perfectionism is quite common, with one study finding that about 44% of students display these self-critical tendencies.

Viewers wholeheartedly ratified the idea of beauty in imperfection. @amandaramsaymakeup wrote, "Love this. As an over-40s makeup expert, I’ve long said beauty is in the imperfections." @lisahaisha said, “Human error isn’t just something to tolerate. It’s part of what gives life texture and meaning. Without those imperfect moments, nothing would feel truly alive.”

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